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maybe a little something but we'll take it. tonight, scarier than we thought. the chilling new warning from the cdc about the spread of the zika virus in america and an urgent plea to act now. commanding lead. our new nbc news poll, hillary clinton and donald trump surging in new york. what it means for trump's chances of avoiding a convention fight. road rage revenge or self-defense? a growing mystery as a former nfl star is gunned down after a car accident. tonight, piecing together a deadly confrontation. nbc news exclusive. the cia will refuse to use waterboarding even if ordered to by a future president. the agency's director hitting back at campaign rhetoric. and the price you pay for things you might not realize you're being billed for. how one company is helping people find

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forgotten money. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. just ahead of the spring and summer travel season, we got a sobering update on zika today. the nation's top health officials warning that the zika virus appears to be a lot scarier than first thought, spreading much faster. and the united states will soon be in the crosshairs with the mosquito population taking off in the coming warmer months. the national institutes of health and the cdc issuing an urgent plea to congress today to act now to pay for immediate steps to protect americans. nbc's tom costello has details. >> reporter: tonight, a stark warning that the haunting images of babies born with microcephaly in brazil, abnormally small heads and brains, are becoming a very real concern in the u.s. >> everything we look at with this virus seems to be scarier

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than we initially thought. >> reporter: the zika virus is carried by the aedes aegypti mosquito. until recently, researchers believed it was found in just 12 states. the new estimate, 30. further north than first thought, though that doesn't mean they'll carry zika that far. already 346 zika cases are reported all over the country, mostly from travelers who brought the virus home. now pregnant women living along the gulf coast are potentially at risk. tropical disease expert dr. peter hotez is warning microcephaly could ravage the region like hurricane katrina. >> i'm very worried that in the areas of extreme poverty and poor neighborhoods, u.s. gulf coast cities such as houston and new orleans, maybe tampa, that we are highly vulnerable to seeing zika virus transmission, leading to microcephaly cases. >> reporter: especially vulnerable, the poor living without air-conditioning or window screens near standing water, where mosquitos thrive. researchers also say unborn babies may be at risk throughout the mother's pregnancy, not just in the first

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trimester. and zika can cause other forms of brain damage that may show up years later. >> the more and more we learn, the more and more you get concerned about the scope of what this virus is doing. >> reporter: tonight the cdc and the nih are both urging congress to provide nearly $2 billion to fight zika. so far, though, republican leaders have insisted the white house use money allocated for ebola prevention first. now with temperatures rising and cities already spraying for mosquitos, health experts warn they need emergency funding now. lester. >> tom, thank you. just eight days after the new york primary, our brand-new poll out this evening shows donald trump far out in front here in his home state. positioned for a delegate haul that could dramatically smooth his patho the nomination. the nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist has trump at 54% in new york, leading kasich and cruz by more than 30 points each. that same poll shows democrat hillary clinton, who claims new york has home, in a double-digit lead.

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55% to 41% over bernie sanders. our team is covering it all. first to nbc's hallie jackson. hallie, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. even with that big lead here in new york, donald trump is arguing the delegate system is stacked against him. these new yorkers lining up for hours tonight want trump, and donald trump wants the win in his home state, where our new poll shows him over 50% now. ted cruz, far behind in third. his campaign tells nbc news they're hoping to stop a sweep because if trump gets all new york's delegates, he'll only need 55% of what's left to lock up the nomination. trump knows if he wins at home and in the nearby states voting next, it's easier for him to avoid a contested convention. that's where cruz may have the delegate advantage after cleaning up in colorado. >> now they're trying to pick off those delegates one by one. that's not the way democracy is supposed to work. the system is rigged. it's crooked. >> reporter: while trump won't get the votes of two of his

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own children, who missed the registration deadline, he's adding staff to get a better handle on the system he's railing against. his rivals argue trump's complaints are simply sour grapes. >> latest thing he seized upon is when people vote against him, they're stealing the election. it's a really odd notion. >> reporter: and while trump's taking aim at cruz's tactics, a cruz campaign source argues if he doesn't like the system, he shouldn't be a part of it. >> what people are electing through the delegate selection process are their people to represent their views on the floor in cleveland. >> reporter: some of trump's backers now feeling unrepresented. >> i will never be a republican again. >> reporter: trump re-tweeting this video of a colorado man burning his voter registration. larry lindsey furious cruz outman tufred trump. the candidate who ignited a political revolution. >> and to hell with the republican party.

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>> reporter: now seeing reporters starting a firestorm. hallie jackson, nbc news, new york. >> reporter: i'm kristen welker covering the democrats. with hillary clinton commanding a double-digit lead in new york, most candidates sharpened their attacks today. >> i have noticed that under the bright spotlight and scrutiny here in new york, senator sanders has had trouble answering questions. >> as most of you know, secretary clinton voted for that disastrous war. >> reporter: if clinton wins new york, her delegate lead would become nearly insurmountable. all but securing the nomination. adding to sanders' already tough odds, independents who typically favor sanders aren't allowed to vote in the new york primary. his strategy now, driving up turnout. >> when there is a large voter turnout, we win. >> reporter: meanwhile, the top democrat who didn't get into the race, vice president joe biden, was asked today if he would like to see a female president. >> i would like to see a woman elected. >> that's it. >> no, no, no.

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that's all right. the president and i are not going to endorse because we both when we ran said let the party decide. >> reporter: you can hear biden staffers interrupting that interview. they say it's because the conversation had gone over its allotted time. and just moments ago, a white house official telling me the vice president had no intention of endorsing secretary clinton but does think it's long past time for a woman president. lester. >> kristen welker tonight, thank you. let's turn now to the growing mystery surrounding the shooting death of a former nfl star. police have charged a man with second-degree murder for allegedly gunning down former new orleans saints player will smith. but the suspect's attorney says authorities have it wrong, that his client was the one afraid for his life. we get the latest from nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: was it road rage, revenge, or something else? tonight the lawyer for the man accused of gunning down former nfl star will smith after a crash says his client is innocent.

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>> mr. hayes fear the for his life. >> reporter: car del hayes is charged with second-degree murder, but his attorney says he was not the aggressionor, that another vehicle had hit his client's car first and that he was pursuing the vehicle to get his license information. police say the hummer hayes was driving smashed into smith's mercedes, which then collided with a third vehicle, a chevy impala. >> what happens after the accident is you have someone who steps out of one of the cars and basically starts making threatening gestures and threatening remarks in the direction of mr. hayes. >> reporter: after they exchange words, gunshots rang out. >> there's a male down with about six gunshot wounds to the chest. >> reporter: smith pronounced dead. >> my leg has been shot. >> reporter: his wife shot in the leg. police say they only confiscated one weapon, but hayes' attorney says he's looking into whether there may have been another gun here at the scene that might have provoked his client. yet a strange coincidence is raising even more questions.

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hayes once received a settlement fr the city over the 2005 shooting death of his father. earlier in the meeting, smith had dinner with his friend, the former police officer named in that lawsuit at this restaurant. >> everything's normal. no strange story, anything awkward going on. >> reporter: so far, police say there's no connection between the two. >> that's the fiction of some imaginations. >> reporter: tonight smith's death is rippling through the sports world and the mystery surrounding it is gripping the crescent city. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, new orleans. now to a tragedy at sea in florida where a fishing trip turned deadly when the boat carrying four people began to sink. among those killed, a sheriff's deputy and his young son. a sole survivor found by the coast guard during a frantic search. we get more from nbc's miguel almaguer. >> reporter: a search team in the air spotted robert stewart strands on an inlet early this morning. the 45-year-old fisherman alone, appeared exhausted as he signaled rescuers.

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>> the survivor relates to us that he clung to the boat throughout the night. >> reporter: stewart was the sole survivor of a fishing trip that began sunday in the waters off stewart, florida, and ended in tragedy. >> they went fishing sometime this morning and the boat swamped immediately. >> reporter: with stewart air lifted to safety, the sheriff's office says they have recovered the bodies of the three other boaters, including a father and son, fernandez and jaden jones, who was just 9. terrible news for a family that had been clinging to hope. >> i'm just hoping that, you know, they're found and everyone is found alive and safe and well. >> reporter: stewart tells rescue teams jaden was wearing a life jacket and says he held on to the boy as long as he could but lost him to the sea. miguel almaguer, nbc news. a u.s. navy officer has been charged with espionage for allegedly sharing

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america's state secrets with china relating to our national security. the news comes at a time when tensions have already increased dramatically between the two militaries. the u.s. surveillance plane was dangerously harassed by chinese fighter jets last september. our pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski has new details on this breach. >> reporter: as a u.s. naval officer, he flew missions in the navy's most advanced spy planes. to gather intelligence on china's military. but in a stunning turnabo turnabout, lieutenant commander edward lin is now charged with providing u.s. secrets to the chinese. on his facebook page, lin is seen in tiananmen square. in a heavily redacted indictment, lin is charged with 17 counts of espionage, passing secrets to china and taiwan, and two counts involving prostitution and adultery. lin, a taiwan national, came to the u.s. at age 14 and became a naturalized

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citizen eight years ago. as an intelligence specialist aboard the navy's top secret aires 2 spy plane, he gathered electronic signals, intercepts of chinese military communications. intelligence experts fear lin may have provided the chinese with enough secrets to combat the u.s. eavesdropping. >> certainly understanding how stuff works is a very good beginning to figure out how to block it. that's really my principal concern. >> reporter: no date has been set for edward lin's court martial. a conviction for espionage could bring a life sentence. jim miklaszewski, nbc news, the pong. now to an nbc news exclusive. cia director john brennan says the agency will not use waterboarding on terror suspects even if ordered to by whomever the next president may be. as you know, it's a controversial technique used in the past that many call torture. and after months of campaign rhetoric about its use, the director is speaking out only to our chief foreign correspondent,

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richard engel. >> reporter: on the seventh floor of the cia headquarters in langley, we met director john brennan, who looking back at his agency's record, says it's had many successes but also some regrets. in particular, the use of harsh interrogation techniques such as waterboarding. never again, brennan said. >> we've learned lessons from the past. we have a lot of capabilities and competencies and skills, and so i don't believe that we need to resort to certain types of tactics. >> like waterboarding? >> absolutely i would not -- i would not agree to having any cia officer carrying out waterboarding again. >> reporter: a rare step into a political issue by a cia director. and today republican front-runner donald trump fired back. >> i think his comments are ridiculous. can you imagine these isis people sitting around, eating, and talking about this country won't allow waterboarding and they just chopped off 50

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heads. >> reporter: president obama banned enhanced interrogation technicals in 2009. >> there were absolutely some of those eits that i certainly would not countenance, not only this organization but other organizations from carrying out. >> reporter: but ted cruz has suggested he's open to waterboarding, and trump far more. >> i would use whatever enhanced interrogation methods we could to keep this country safe. >> i would bring back waterboarding and i'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding. [ applause ] >> it's come up recently in politics with some presidential candidates saying that's the first thing that they'd like to bring back. would this organization support that or even follow that order? >> this organization will do what it can to protect the american public from the attacks from terrorist groups. i will not agree to carry out some of these tactics and techniques that i've heard bandied about because this

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institution needs to endure. >> reporter: and no matter who the next president is, new legal obstacles, and now the cia director's public dissent would make it extremely difficult to order any government agency back into the business of torturing suspects. many at the cia frankly felt that they were left holding the bag because of the past waterboarding experience that they had. they feel now that they've closed that door. that is behind them, and they don't want to open it again. >> he made his position pretty clear. rifrpd engel, thank you. still ahead tonight, recurring fees for everything from roadside assistance to beauty products. you may be paying them without even realizing it. now there's a new way to manage it all. also princess diana once caused a stir with this iconic image. why her son and his wife are journeying back there 24 years later.

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we're back now with an eye-opening look at the price you pay for subscriptions. in this mott ern world of auto billing and auto renewals. it's often hard to recall what you're paying for or even how to cancel it. nbc's olivia sterns looks at a new way to get organized and save yourself a bundle. >> reporter: eduardo rossi was paying for a car he didn't even own. >> $24 a month. someone else is enjoying my vehicle. >> reporter: that $24 was for onstar roadside assistance, just one of many

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subscription services that ed signed up for but somehow forgot about. >> how many subscriptions did you have? >> probably between 20 and 15. crazy. >> reporter: the worst example, shampoo ed bought not realizing he'd be locked in. >> we ordered it once. we had no idea it would keep coming. >> reporter: busy traveling for work, the husband and wife team simply lost track of all their bills. that's until ed signed up yet again for something new. this time, truebill, a subscription monitoring service that saved the rossi's $3,600 a year. >> okay. what else? >> reporter: the co-founder of truebill says the average user saves $512 canceling payments for the coming year. >> people are spending more and more of their money on subscriptions rather than one-time purchases. >> reporter: here's how it works. you give truebill access to your credit card or bank account statement. an algorithm scans for recurring purchases, flags them, then helps you cancel what you no

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longer want. truebill says it never shares data with third parties and has read-only access so nothing can be changed on your account. for now, the service is free. >> how did you feel when you realized you were leaving $3,600 a year on the table in forgotten expenses? >> i felt bad about that. >> reporter: now he's got a subscription for savings too. olivia sterns, nbc news, georgia. >> things do add up. we're back in a moment with how fast food workers were tricked into vandalizing their own restaurant.

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days after bruce springsteen canceled a north carolina concert in protest of that state's so-called bathroom law, what he and others have called anti-lgbt bigotry, canadian rocker bryan adams is following suit further south. adams has canceled an upcoming show in mississippi, citing that state's new law that allows religious groups and some businesses to refuse service to gay

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couples. the mississippi law will take effect july 1st. caught on camera, panicked workers at a minnesota burger king smashing out their own windows. police say they were tricked by a prankster claiming to be a fire official, who said there was a gas leak inside and the windows had to be busted out to prevent an explosion. similar pranks have been pulled at restaurants in oklahoma and california, costing thousands in damage. when we come back, how prince william and kate are using their royal tour to retrace princess diana's steps nearly a quarter century later. ===laura/vo===

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what confidential documents we just discovered reveal about jail house issues from over a year ago. ===raj/vo=== and how california cashes in as candidates battle for the whe use. ===next close=== the news is next. sot it finally tonight, britain's william and kate are making quite the first impression on their royal tour across indian together. for many, it's bringing to mind memories of another royal visit nearly a quarter century ago by william's late mother, princess diana. we get the story from nbc's keir simmons. >> reporter: this trip to india was kate's idea according to prince william. she's been learning the language, or trying. visiting poor children in mumbai, inspiration for the movie "slumdog millionaire." and encouraging her

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reluctant husband to challenge a local dancer. even managing to get through a breezy wardrobe malfunction today. kate, confident, playing sports with william before the couple paying homage at ghandi's shrine in delhi. you can see them now being given their ceremonial scarves. then this afternoon, william attending to another woman in his life, the queen, at an event to mark her upcoming 90th birthday. >> now i can report back to granny that i've done my duty. >> reporter: but it is william's mother who looms large over this trip. diana was pictured at the taj mahal alone during a visit with prince charles in 1992. the image telegraphed to the world their marriage was over. william will visit that same spot this week with his wife. a future king influenced at every stage by strong women. keir simmons, nbc news, delhi.

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and that will do it for us on a monday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. right now at 6. in an nbc bay area exclsuvie -- the south bay jail that's it is trying to be proved. >> right now at 6:00 in an nbc bay area exclusive, the south area jail missing a key level of security. i'm laura garcia-cannon in for jessica augeri. >> i'm raj mathai. lack of security at the jail. we obtained confidential documents that shed light on this story. damian trujillo joins us from the jail with this exclusive

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story. damian? >> reporter: raj, these memos were issued in september and november of 2014 and insist something has to be done to improve the camera surveillance system here at elmwood but nothing has been done, until today. just hours after we called the santa clara county's sheriff's office a deputy and two men walked the perimeter looking at the position of the old and future surveillance system. >> it's adequated and trying to prove it. we've been trying to prove it. the sheriff has been trying to improve it. >> the inspection came three hours after we called about these classified memos. they poi to the quote existing inadequate surveillance system, a problem that quote should be corrected soon. but the memo is more than a year old and sources tell me nothing has been done. until today. >> as we know, bureaucracy is slow unfortunately. it's going through the right channels, appropriate channels. >> sergeant jamesse